Dismissal, almost without exception
If a personal injury lawsuit is filed in Louisiana after the applicable prescriptive period has run — whether under the current two-year rule or the older one-year rule for earlier injuries — the claim is almost always permanently barred. Prescription in Louisiana functions as a complete defense: once it's established, a defendant generally doesn't need to argue the underlying facts of the case at all.
Courts apply prescription strictly
Louisiana's civil law tradition treats prescription as a firm, predictable rule, and courts generally enforce it that way. Being close to the deadline, or having a sympathetic reason for the delay that doesn't fit a recognized legal exception, isn't on its own a basis for a court to excuse a late filing.
A distinctive risk created by the 2024 change
Because the applicable deadline now genuinely depends on the exact date of injury — one year for an injury before July 1, 2024, two years for an injury on or after that date — there's a real, specific risk of confusion that didn't exist before this recent change. Someone unaware of exactly when the new rule took effect could easily assume the more generous two-year period applies to an injury that actually falls under the older, shorter rule.
A separate risk for government claims
Even when the underlying prescriptive period hasn't run, a claim against the state or a political subdivision can still be lost through the separate 90-day service-of-citation requirement discussed in our guide to Louisiana government claims — a genuinely distinct trap worth understanding on its own.
Negotiations end along with the legal leverage behind them
One of the more painful practical consequences: once prescription has actually run, an insurance company has no legal obligation to keep negotiating, to make any offer, or to pay anything at all — even if settlement talks were active and seemingly productive right up until the deadline passed.
If there's any doubt at all
Because the consequence of missing a deadline is generally permanent, and because Louisiana's rules have genuinely shifted in recent years, the only reliable way to know where things actually stand is to confirm the exact date with a licensed Louisiana attorney as early as possible.